CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

ASSIGNMENT

CUSTOMER TOUCH POINTS

SUBMITTED BY:Angad Bir SinghSUBMITTED TO: DR. KOKIL JAINCLASS: MBA-IBENROLLMENT NO:A1802013203SECTION: C

CUSTOMER TOUCHPOINTS

Customer touchpoints are all the different ways consumers experience a product or service, from when they first become aware of it, until they dispose of it.People often become loyal to products and services for reasons beyond the primary features and attributes all competitors offer.  Touchpoints that address important but overlooked aspects consumers also care about can be importantly differentiating.  Mastering touchpoints is also more likely to result in customers trading up to larger amounts per purchase occasion and additional purchases.  Every touchpoint plays a role in reinforcing the brand’s positioning and overall perception.  Important touchpoints that are majorly mishandled can send customers fleeing and result in damaging, unfavorable word of mouth.

It’s highly innovative to excel at customer touchpoints because so few firms do it well.  Here’s my own personal list of Apple touchpoints done well and it’s only a fraction of all the touchpoints they master. It includes everything from website to store attributes.

APPLE TOUCHPOINTS

1) A Clean, Easy to Navigate Website

The website is clean, crisply designed, easy to navigate, and easy to find and learn about new offerings, set up appointments, and locate stores.

2) Packaging

There is something magical about opening a new Apple product.  The packaging radiates quality and design.  It can also be clever, as with the plastic shopping bags with cords that can be used as a backpack.  The original iPod package captured the wonderful colorful, animated visual and feel of the TV ads.  Computer packages with carry handles serve as advertising billboards when customers leave the store.  The way the boxes open and the products are laid out inside also conveys specialness.

3) Demo Units in Store

The many demo units in each store make it extremely easy to try/sample the devices.  I’ve always felt that if a product is truly superior, sampling is the single most effective marketing tactic.  Employees at each store whose job it is to explain the products, support the sampling strategy.

4) The Number of Employees, Attitudes and Training of Employees in Stores

Apple doesn’t skimp on employees in their stores.  There are plenty there to insure customers don’t have long waits to get information.  The criteria for hiring and the training methods are unusual because Apple employees are collectively cooler, hipper, smarter, more patient, collaborative and more problem/solution oriented than I’ve seen in any other retail establishment.

5) The Cleanliness of the Stores, No Clutter, and Consistency of Design

The consistent cleanliness of the stores, the cheerful lighting, and uniform building materials and design, all contribute a familiar and positive vibe.  Because the mandate is to make the stores clutter free, bags and receipt printers are placed underneath the surface of the display tables and out of sight.

6) Store Locations

They’re all in locations that are easy to find and in areas of each city their relatively well-educated target would want to be.

7) One to One

Customers that buy new computers are eligible to purchase “One to One” tutorials for two consecutive, one-year periods following the purchase.  The One to One program enables customers to schedule 1-hour, ½ hour, or open training sessions with specialists in each of the Apple software areas (iPhoto, Pages, Keynote, etc.).  The trainers are extraordinarily patient and know how to help customers learn to become self-sufficient at using the hardware and software.

8) Acknowledgement of Appointments

After registering for an appointment at the Apple store, customers are sent a confirming email.  It’s helpful and decreases the likelihood of “no shows”.

9) Short Wait Times to Check Out

Because employees who provide customers with devices and other items for sale have a register in their hands on their mobile devices, checkout wait times are minimal, making purchases more seamless and pleasant.

10) Personal Set-Up

Several years ago Apple reorganized their stores to provide an area called “Personal Set-Up”.  The area is devoted to making sure people who just purchased a device leave the store knowing how to use it.  The practice makes customers even happier and more excited about their new purchases and reduces customer service expenses later on.

11) In-Store Classes

Apple stores offer regularly scheduled classes that explain the basics of using the devices and the most useful features of each major software type.  Learning how to do more with their hardware and software increases users’ appreciation of how wonderfully useful and multi-faceted the products are.

12) Rebate Receipt Acknowledgement

Apple periodically has rebate offers and unlike with any other rebate I’ve ever sent in, Apple sends a note saying they received it and it’s being processed.  This provides peace of mind because you know they’re on top of it.

13) Software Development Kits

In Apple’s early years, created all the hardware and software for all their products.  Now, their relatively easy to use Software Development Kits (SDK’s), have resulted in over 1,000,000 apps being developed, subject to Apple’s quality control approval.  This enables app developers to make money on their apps globally if they sell them, or to at least have a place to distribute the apps if giving them away free.  The tremendous variety of helpful and entertaining apps also make Apple’s devices much more useful and a valued part of people’s lives.

14) Questionnaires on Satisfaction

After experiencing Apple customer service, I am often sent a satisfaction survey.  To me it’s an indication Apple wants to continuously improve every aspect of the customer experience.  It also makes it very easy to provide them hopefully useful feedback.

Firms try to win the loyalty and devotion of their customers, they need to experience their brands as their consumers do to determine all the ways they can make the product or service experience better, more pleasant, more human, and more productive.  Each brand should develop a detailed customer touchpoint or journey map with all the stops along the way before, during, and after purchase.  They should think of ways to differentiate beyond the obvious to surprise and delight customers.  Maximizing touchpoints doesn’t have to be more costly.  In some cases it can save money in customer service and advertising due to more favorable word of mouth.  It just might have the highest return on investment of any marketing aspect!